Royal Tigers won by 9 wickets

On a beautiful late summer day at the RAFC ground in Budapest, three-time Hungarian league champions the Royal Tigers outclassed Phoenix in a one-sided semi to reach the HCL final once again, where they will meet the Budapest Falcons.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, little else went right for Phoenix as Tigers proved stronger in all departments. Much hinged on the performance of Phoenix's star batsman Syed Ibrahim, the leading scorer in the league this season with over 300 runs. But having made a solid start with 3 stylish boundaries, he top-edged attempting to pull a ball from Ujjwal off his legs and the skyer was accepted gratefully by Tigers keeper Sufiyan. Besides a patient 15 from Robin Sperling, the rest of the Phoenix order made little impression, and it was up to the big-hitting Ranjit Kumar - playing an unusually restrained but valuable innings - to claw Phoenix back into a semblance of contention, ably assisted by veteran Preminder Singh. When their partnership of 39 was finally broken, however, the remainder of the line-up soon folded and Phoenix were left with a decidedly below-par total of 124 all out.

Tigers began their chase with Phoenix knowing that early wickets were vital in order to put pressure on the batsmen with such a small total to defend, so it was perhaps surprising that skipper Benjamin Lebor chose to gamble by opening with two slow bowlers in the shape of himself and Preminder Singh, alongside a defensive field with pretty much everyone pushed close to the boundary. Although Lebor bowled a solid spell and took the only Tigers wicket to fall, trapping Rajesh leg before, the defensive field allowed the Ahuja brothers to calmly milk singles, staying well ahead of the run-rate without the need to really go after the bowling. Once the end was in sight, however, Stan Ahuja let loose with a flurry of sixes and hurried the game to a conclusion inside 16 overs.

Tigers' overall team strength was again apparent in the fact that wickets were taken by five bowlers, with Lucky, Sanjay, Ujjwal and Amandeep all picking up two each. Ultimately, Tigers emerged deserving winners, showing the value of good teamwork and preparation. The match was played in the best sporting spirit by both sides.

Man of the Match: Stan Ahuja (53 not out, 1 wicket, 1 catch)